Sao Paulo, Brazil has always had a rich history in music. Some of Brazil's most engaging musicians were spawned in Sao Paulo during the 20th century, including Os Mutantes, who helped create the Tropicalia movement of the '60s, and Samba composers Paulo Vanzolini and Adoniran Barbosa, who wrote one of Brazil's most famous Sambas (see "Trem das Onze"). A late punk and garage scene grew in the '80s while the '90s gave way to a strong drum and bass movement. Fast forward to the 21st century and CSS carries the torch as Sao Paulo's leading purveyors of electronic-dance-rock. CSS exploded onto Brazil's burgeoning "new rave" scene in the early 2000s. Originally a six piece (5 ladies, 1 dude), CSS was one of the early bands to turn Internet fame into a full-fledged career.

Nearly a decade after they famously took their name (Cansei de Ser Sexy) from R&B diva Beyonce, after she declared she was "tired of being sexy," the women of CSS are back with their fourth album, Planta.TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek takes on producer duties and this time around CSS deliver a more polished production. Still full of electro-pop rock angst, CSS remain fun and loud despite losing main songwriter Adriano Cintra. The album's lead single, "Hangover," is a querky synth-pop jam that carries an upbeat feel. Lovefoxxx sings, "Living in Jupiter that spot is free / Martians??/ vampires and bees /
Everyone is floating together / Everyone is partying forever." Party on CSS!

Ahoy, mateys! Record Store Day is coming up quick on the horizon and once again the anticipation is incredible. Oh, if you could only scope the booty we've got stowed in the hold for this Saturday, a truly beautiful (and impressively hulking) bounty of vinyl treasures ripe for a-plundering. While I'm still taking it all in, here's a short list of what I've got locked in my sights for the big day tomorrow:Os Mutantes - Everything is Possible: World Psych Classics Vol. 1 (LP)
This "best of" is a must have! I've been rocking this release on CD for years and I am just so excited to be able to finally get my paws on a deluxe vinyl edish for my collection. This is my absolutenúmero um Record Store Day pick!

Os Mutantes - "Bat Macumba"

(*also, Luaka Bop's second volume in their World Psychedelic Classics series will also be available as a limited RSD LP -- Shuggie Otis' Inspiration Information, don't miss!)

This show is sure to be amazing -- all the Ariel Pinkdebauchery you can handle, plus Brazil's greatest export, Os Mutantes?! Wow! Sure to shake you out of your post-Thanksgiving hangover and rush you right into yet another! Tickets here.

While they are at our stores we like to take some time to get to know 'em a little better by having interviews, which we capture on video because we want you to have as much access as us! Check out just sampling of the MANY great artist interviews we have on our website below! For even more interviews click here!

With every Brazilian Independence Day (Sept. 7th) usually comes a plethora of great Brazilian music to Los Angeles. Still, it was a shock to see Os Mutantes on the Amoeba instore calendar when it was posted back in August. I’m sure it was more of a coincidence than something planned, but In the back of my mind I thought, “How cool is that!?” To say that I’m a fan of Os Mutantes is an understatement; in fact, it's probably one of the few groups that most Amoeba employees with all our collective vast tastes in music can agree upon. Since their reunion, or rather, their resurgence back in 2006, I have managed to miss all their shows in Los Angeles due to plain old bad timing. At last, I would finally see the band that was the gateway for me and so many others to discovering Brazilian music.

In the early nineties, I read an article on Os Mutantes. They were referred to as “The Brazilian Beatles,” but that is not what drew me to them. It was that they, along with the other Tropicalistas Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso and Tom Zéwere radicals and into taking all influences, whether they was Brazilian, European, Avant-garde or folk music, and putting them all together. Mutantes were the easiest to digest because they had much in common with other Psychedelic groups of that era, but after listening to them on a continuous basis, I started to notice their musicianship and songwriting was much more advanced than most groups of that time. They were the best of the Avant-garde rock bands because they could swing better than any of them. I remembering going to a record store and buying all their import CDs that I could find. From there I got into Caetano, Gilberto Gil, Tom Ze and soon started to venture out into other non-Tropicalia artist such as Milton Nascimento and Jorge Ben. From then on, the doors of Brazilian music became wide open. My discovery of Brazilian music from Jobim to Funk Carioca is due in part to Os Mutantes.